It\u2019s just the first of many.\u00a0<\/p>\n
26 Pors\u00a0<\/p>\n
When they arrived at the beach, Alessandro stopped the horse. Abril was mesmerized by the calm sea, the waves moving like arms and forming a mother\u2013of\u2013pearl\u2013colored foam. A little further away, she saw some boats approaching the port, and several seagulls were fishing in the sea. The landscape was beautiful. Abril could never have imagined that one day she would be able to enjoy such a view. She had resigned herself to living her entire life confined, with her only moments of freedom being in that small house in a corner of the royal palace. She had never desired to leave or even be free because she had never known what freedom was. Without realizing it, tears rolled down her cheeks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alessandro dismounted from the horse, and seeing that she was crying, he asked, \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong? Why are you crying?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nothing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alessandro extended his hands to help her dismount. Abril threw herself into his arms, remembering that Lady Elizabeth had told her that a kiss could express gratitude. She kissed him and said, \u201cThank you so much for bringing me here, for showing me what lies beyond the palace walls.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alessandro felt conflicted: she was thanking the very person responsible for her\u00a0<\/p>\n
confinement, for showing her what was beyond the palace walls. He returned the embrace and replied, \u201cI want to show you everything in my kingdom and even beyond it. This place is just the first of many more.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alessandro looked at Abril\u2019s face, wiped her tears, and said, \u201cI prefer to see you smile, so\u00a0<\/p>\n
don\u2019t cry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abril nodded, and he gave her a soft, sweet kiss on the lips and asked, \u201cDo you want to walk a\u00a0<\/p>\n
bit?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThen let\u2019s go, let\u2019s enjoy this beautiful landscape while we\u2019re here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alessandro knelt down in the white sand and said, \u201cGive me your foot.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll see.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abril lifted her right foot, and Alessandro removed her shoe. He then asked for her left foot and did the same. Abril\u2019s feet sank into the white sand, an unfamiliar sensation for her. She\u00a0<\/p>\n
:\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s just the first of many.\u00a0<\/p>\n
said, \u201cIt feels strange.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know, but it\u2019s pleasant, isn\u2019t it?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, it is.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Points\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alessandro took off his shoes and placed them next to Abril\u2019s. He took her hand and said,\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCome on, this isn\u2019t what I wanted to show you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abril followed him, enjoying the sensation of her feet sinking into the sand. When they reached the shore, the waves splashed Abril\u2019s dress. Seeing Alessandro entering the water, she asked, \u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going into the sea.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abril stopped abruptly and said, \u201cI don\u2019t know how to swim.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know, but you have nothing to fear. I won\u2019t let go of you, and we\u2019ll only go in far enough to get our feet wet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abril held up the skirt of her dress to keep it from getting wet and continued walking. When the water touched her feet, she smiled. Alessandro said, \u201cSee, it\u2019s not scary.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abril stepped on something that pricked her foot, and she winced. Alessandro picked her up and asked, \u201cAre you okay?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think something pricked me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abril stared intently at the water. At the bottom, she saw something shining. She pointed at it and said, \u201cLook, I think it was that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDid it hurt you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abril moved her foot and replied, \u201cNo, it didn\u2019t hurt. I\u2019m fine.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alessandro set her back down and retrieved what Abril had pointed out from the water. It was\u00a0<\/p>\n
a beautiful pink seashell. He handed it to Abril and said, \u201cWas it this?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abril took it, examined it closely, and replied, \u201cYes, it was this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She looked at him and said, \u201cIt\u2019s very pretty. What is it?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a seashell. These are especially used to make pendants among the commoners.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I make a pendant with this?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s something a princess should wear.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
<It\u2019s just the first of many.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not? I like it, and I don\u2019t have any jewelry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Points:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alessandro felt he had failed as a husband upon hearing the princess say she didn\u2019t have a single piece of jewelry. He said, \u201cIf you want jewelry, all you have to do is ask.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abril extended her hand, showing him the seashell they had just picked up, and said, \u201cThen could you make a pendant with this? I would really like this to be my first piece of jewelry, so I can remember this day every time I see it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alessandro couldn\u2019t refuse after hearing that. He took the seashell from Abril\u2019s hand and said, \u201cWhen we return, I\u2019ll have a beautiful pendant made for you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abril smiled happily and said, \u201cThank you so much.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alessandro put the seashell in his pants pocket and wrapped his arms around her waist. \u201cIf you\u2019re grateful, you should thank me in another way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLike how?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLike you did a moment ago, with a kiss.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abril placed her hands on his chest, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed him. Her kiss was sweet and gentle, just like she was. Alessandro deepened the kiss, kissing her passionately while his hands roamed aimlessly over her back and hips, wishing he could remove her clothes at that very moment and feel her bare skin, the warmth of her body. He sighed heavily and said, \u201cI wish we were in our room right now so I could make you mine.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abril felt scared, remembering how painful her first time had been.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alessandro gently caressed Abril\u2019s hair, tucking a strand behind her ear, and said, \u201cThis time will be different, you\u2019ll see. There will be no pain; I\u2019ll make sure of it. I\u2019ll make you feel good.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
He Threw Away and Sold to the Devil 51 It\u2019s just the first of many.\u00a0 26 Pors\u00a0 When they arrived […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[87],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-his-regret-their-knees-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29814\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}